Pinkbike Poll: Do You Work on Your Skills?
It's so easy to get wrapped up in the two basic veins of improvement on the bike: fitness and strength. Season in, season out, we try and build on our base and come back into the next year fitter and stronger than the last so we can crush our friends and the trail just a little bit harder. But how much effort and thought do you apply to improving your skills? When embarking onto the trails as a new mountain biker there is so much to learn, from bike handling, to body position, reading terrain and so on. But as we progress, we can sometimes get stuck in our ways and the progression slows down. We start to know what we're good at, and what we're not so good at, and can become culprits of pigeonholing ourselves. Phrases such as, "Oh, I'm not a jumper," or "I am not a good descender" can become entrenched in our vocabulary.
So, when these things happen, what do you do? Do you take a lesson?
![Chris getting all sideways while shooting my Deep Summer slide show...]()
There's an absolute plethora of bike clinics available to riders these days that cater to beginners, intermediates and the advanced. But how willing are we to acknowledge our weaknesses and slow down for a day or two in order to speed up? Is taking a lesson too expensive, too boring or too un-cool?
After years of success with Women's Wednesday's, Whistler Mountain Bike Park last year started Testosterone Tuesdays. Men from all ability levels came and learned riding skills and tips from some of the best riders in the area: Adam Billinghurst, Corey LeClerc, and Harry Armstrong among others. The turn-out was big, and groups of men returned week after week to learn better lines and better habits. The guys got a free beer and a chance to win prizes at the end of it and no doubt they improved up their placing in the local weekly Phat Wednesday race series as well. It wasn't break the bank expensive - was it un-cool? You'll have to ask them, but there's no doubt, the participants rode away each day with another tip or two in their back pocket and likely some sense of achievement.
What would the catalyst be for you to want to take the time to progress your skills and become that well-rounded bike rider you've always dreamed of being? Would you ever go so far as to take a lesson?
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So, when these things happen, what do you do? Do you take a lesson?
Fancy cornering like the Karver? Chris and his wife both coach riders with a wide range of abilities.
There's an absolute plethora of bike clinics available to riders these days that cater to beginners, intermediates and the advanced. But how willing are we to acknowledge our weaknesses and slow down for a day or two in order to speed up? Is taking a lesson too expensive, too boring or too un-cool?
After years of success with Women's Wednesday's, Whistler Mountain Bike Park last year started Testosterone Tuesdays. Men from all ability levels came and learned riding skills and tips from some of the best riders in the area: Adam Billinghurst, Corey LeClerc, and Harry Armstrong among others. The turn-out was big, and groups of men returned week after week to learn better lines and better habits. The guys got a free beer and a chance to win prizes at the end of it and no doubt they improved up their placing in the local weekly Phat Wednesday race series as well. It wasn't break the bank expensive - was it un-cool? You'll have to ask them, but there's no doubt, the participants rode away each day with another tip or two in their back pocket and likely some sense of achievement.
What would the catalyst be for you to want to take the time to progress your skills and become that well-rounded bike rider you've always dreamed of being? Would you ever go so far as to take a lesson?
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Member since Jul 20, 2010
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that's what i do
i repeat every single video to see exactly what they're doing
if you watch brandon sememnuks videos repeteatly you can see exactly what muscels he is tensioning and what muscels he was training
little hint
stright back and loose/strong arms/legs ... brandon is one of those guys where you can see that the bike is no longer a bike or a tool.. it's a part of him ..that's how it looks like
That, and I hit the gym more now and spend more time doing corner repeats and muscle memory drills. Over and over. My riding buddies don't like it, but when I do finally just ride (once or twice a month) - it's SO RAD.
We'll test it all out in Mammoth in a few days / weeks!
There's a lot of folks out there who think new gear = more skills.
Take a lesson! It's worth it!
There is no better money invested than in yourself. Why use trial and error for years trying to figure something out, when you can just take a skills clinic and learn it correctly in a weekend? (shameless plug for DirtSmartMTB.com - you're welcome Andy)
Spot on, everyone's battle is ultimately with themselves and 'the edge' is a very personal place and available to anyone. This always fits nicely in with my theory that you can be on the ragged edge and/or have fun on almost any bike. As far as not being able to do things you see others doing, if it's attainable it's a carrot on a stick. If it's not, it's just a dude driving a Bugatti when you earn minimum wage... Nice to look at, unlikely to be achieved.
Here's a thought, did neko kinda prove that on modern steep dh courses the time spent putting a chain back on if you had only dropped it, isn't worth it? If he hadn't broken his chain, had stopped and put it back on the ring and carried on, do people think he would have caught up with the other version of him that just carried on regardless? I don't. He was flying!
That's my .02 anyway.
You're right, but the distinction is that whilst you don't 'learn' skills that way, you're almost guaranteed to 'pick some up'.
Getting some coaching on jumps and drops helps too; I don't know how many people I've had to tell "don't pull-up on a drop", but I didn't know any better until a coach taught me about preloading before the drop, so I'm grateful for that.
I also had some great help in line selection, letting the rear wheel square off corners, etc. The reality is that riding is fun, but seeing yourself improve makes it "more funner" - so do whatever it takes to improve!
I've always used the Fabian barrel videos to improve skills in cornering etc, unless somebody knows of a better one?
20-% off on parts, wholesale price -10% on my bikes, as I pay cash, and the bike is on the box, know what you do, do what you know!!!
Next best thing I did was read a guide to mountain bike skills that mountain bike magazine put together with Ned Overend a while back. Lots of good skills I still work on fine tuning (the book is at least 15 years old).
Then lots of manualing, bunny hopping, endo ridin practice in the yard and road until I can get out on the trail again.
(google Fabian optimum vs. maximum)
Riding for fun, ya can still work em a ton. :-)
That's a bit more accurate.